Documentation
Everything you need to run a job through AREZ, from install to the issued set. Short on purpose: the software shows its assumptions on the sheets, so most questions are answered there.
Install and activate
- Download the installer from the link in your receipt email (or the trial link). Windows 10 or 11, 64 bit; Edge or Chrome must be installed for the sheet viewer.
- Run the installer. It needs about 15 MB of disk, plus about 6 GB if you add the assistant.
- Open AREZ and paste your licence key from the receipt. Trial builds need no key and stamp sheets PRELIMINARY.
- Choose units (US customary or SI). You can change this per project later.
Your first project
- Model. Draw walls, floors, beams and roofs level by level, in plan or 3D. Openings go in the walls; AREZ places headers and trimmers.
- Wind. Enter the site: risk category, exposure, basic wind speed. AREZ computes ASCE 7-22 MWFRS and C&C pressures from the geometry.
- Analyze. Gravity and lateral loads are traced through every member to the foundation. Anything AREZ had to assume shows up as a stated assumption.
- Design. Joists, beams, posts and shear walls are checked to NDS 2024 and SDPWS 2021, with pass and fail shown on the plan. Fails and open questions go to the Unresolved Design Items list.
- Sheets. Generate the set: general notes, plans, sections, details and schedules, numbered and cross referenced.
- Export. PDF set, DXF with AutoCAD layers, DWG and a Revit package.
Reading the sheets
Every sheet carries a title block with the project, the code editions and the stamp state. Member tags on plans link to the schedules by number. Stated assumptions and review notes print on S-000 so a reviewer sees them first. Sheets read PRELIMINARY on trial seats and NOT FOR ISSUE on licensed seats until the engineer of record clears the flag in Project settings.
Codes and editions
| Scope | Edition |
|---|---|
| Wood member and connection design | NDS 2024 |
| Shear walls and diaphragms | SDPWS 2021 |
| Wind and seismic loads | ASCE 7-22 |
| Connector catalog | Simpson Strong-Tie C-C-2026 (published data; not affiliated) |
| Foundations | Not designed; bearing loads are reported |
Exports
PDF is the issued set. DXF keeps AREZ layers as AutoCAD layers (S-WALL, S-BEAM, S-TEXT and so on). DWG is written through the free ODA File Converter, or AutoCAD when it is installed, by dragging the DXF onto "Make DWG.bat" in the AREZ folder. The Revit package contains the framing as families with the member sizes as parameters.
Keyboard shortcuts
| Action | Keys |
|---|---|
| Draw wall | W |
| Draw beam | B |
| Place opening | O |
| Run analysis | F5 |
| Generate sheets | F7 |
| Ask Mijo | Ctrl K |
Mijo, the assistant
Mijo runs locally and reads the open model. Ask it why a member failed, what an assumption means, or to explain a code clause it applied. It answers from the model and the code text, and it never changes the model without you confirming.
Changelog
Loads tab in the ribbon, right after Home: Site and report, Dead, Live, Roof live, Snow, Wind, Seismic. Dead loads built up layer by layer per floor, roof and wall. Reads an ASCE Hazard Tool PDF report and fills the wind, snow and seismic site values; exposure stays the engineer's choice.
Fixes from a full sweep of nine saved projects, US and SI: Analyze no longer fails on a layout with walls but no framing; a wall carried by two in-line walls below is no longer flagged as a partial bearing. Member results unchanged from 2.13.0.
Roof snow load from the ground snow load by default (ASCE 7-22 Chapter 7: pf, Ce, Ct, Cs, minimum pm), with the basis printed on S-000. Changing the project snow updates every roof framing area still on the old value.
Sheet graphics: general notes overflow onto S-000A, span arrows from bearing to bearing, drawing titles with bubbles and graphic scales, sheet number as the largest text in the title block, fuller plan legend, load path flags drawn as review marks.
Snow basis on S-000, last typical details, load path fixes, pen weights, keynotes and the Issue set command that stamps the set.
Grids, load path report, typical details and submittal notes. Lateral schedules for shear walls and diaphragms (2.12.17), connection details and shear wall segments (2.12.13 to 2.12.16).
Support
Email hello@tryarez.com with the AREZ version (Help, About) and, if you can share it, the project file. We answer within one business day.